1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an improvement of an atlas or a combined pocketbook-atlas, and more particularly to an atlas which is provided with differently colored indexes at its front cover and inner papers printed with individual maps, thereby allowing the user to easily look up a place to be desired therein owing to tones of a color.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known pocketbook generally consists of front and back covers and inner papers. The surfaces of individual inner papers are partitioned by drawing horizontal and vertical lines and, as a result, provide a plurality of rectangular blanks in which names, telephone numbers, addresses and the others may be entered. These inner papers are further provided with serial page numbers. Additionally in order to facilitate looking for a page to be desired of the pocketbook, the known pocketbook uses its first page as an index page including the table of contents.
On the other hand, a conventional atlas includes inner papers printed with maps, such as a map of the world and detailed maps of countries and regions, drawn on optionally reduced scales. The maps of the conventional atlas are marked with longitudes, latitudes and direction expressions. In the similar manner to the known pocketbooks, this conventional atlas generally uses its first inner page as an index page.
As described above, the known pocketbook and the known atlas generally include individual indexes provided at their index pages or the first inner pages. On these index pages, tables of contents are provided by printing contents and their page numbers. In accordance with another embodiment of the prior art, stepped or thumb indexes are provided at side peripheries of the inner papers and printed with letters, such as alphabets, for facilitating looking for a page to be desired.
Accordingly, when the user intends to look up an entered information or a place in the known pocketbook or the known atlas, it is required to refer to, in order to recognize the page number of the information or the place to look up, the index prior to finding his place in the pocketbook or in the atlas. Indeed, when the user intends to look up information or place in the known pocketbook and atlas during looking up another information or place, he should return to the index page so as to recognize the desired page number and, thereafter, find his place in the pocketbook or in the atlas. Hence, a disadvantage of the known pocketbook or the known atlas is resided in that, in order to look up different two or more entered information or places, the user should repeatedly consult the table of content of the index page and, thereafter, find the desired pages separately. Furthermore, in the case of driver, he should suspend the driving of the car before he consults the known atlas. To provide stepped or thumb indexes for the known pocketbook and the known atlas involves additional capital investment for manufacture of such indexes. These known stepped or thumb indexes are easily damaged by being folded or worn-out according to long time use and this spoils the beauty of the pocketbook and the atlas.
In an effort to solve the aforementioned disadvantages, the present applicant proposed "Atlas Provided With Distance Measuring Lines" in Korean Utility Model No. 62214. The maps of this atlas are partitioned by horizontal and longitudinal distance measuring lines in addition to latitudes and longitudes and provided with an additional symbolized index and, as a result, allows the user to look up a desired place in the atlas more rapidly. However, this atlas, while reducing the time to be required to look up one place therein, nevertheless relies on, like the other prior embodiments, repeated consulting of the index and repeated finding of desired pages when it is required to look up different two places in the atlas.